HISTORY OF THE PALAZZO

The history of this palazzo began in 1749, when the Genoese nobleman Marcantonio Doria bought a 16^th-century palazzo in the heart of Naples. In 1755 a second house was bought right next to the previous one.

Doria’s idea was to build a family palazzo in Naples which would take the place of the two units. In 1760 the houses were being demolished when Marcantonio suddenly died without seeing his dream fulfilled. His work lived on with his son, Giovanni Carlo Doria, who tasked with the design the architect Luigi Vanvitelli (by then pretty old, but still highly regarded for his monumental work in the Royal Palace of Caserta).

When Luigi died, in 1773, the project was passed into the hands of other architects (Ferdinando Fuga and Mario Gioffredo) before being taken over by Carlo Vanvitelli, Luigi’s son.

The construction went on undisturbed until 1778: by this year, the building had already trespassed its intended borders and the work was halted. The Doria family was forced to buy the neighboring plot of land to be able to place the four columns of the façade and complete the palazzo. The idea of opening a second entrance door on the side was initially proposed but quickly abandoned, and a new doorway was opened at the rear of the palazzo.

In the first half of the 19^th century, the Doria tasked the architect Antonio Francesconi (who had already left his signature on the family’s palazzo in Posillipo) to rework the interiors of the property to convert it into a private dwelling.

On September 6, 1860, Francis II of the Two Sicilies left Naples and moved to Gaeta and Capua, where he hoped to reorganize his army to face Giuseppe Garibaldi. The following day (September 7, the date that gave the square its name), the Hero of the Two Worlds entered Naples with his men, and the Spanish garrison refused to open fire. Once inside Palazzo della Foresteria, Garibaldi spoke to the citizens of Naples:

“You have the right to rejoice in this day which is the beginning of a new age not just for you, but for the whole Italy, of which Naples is the best part. It is truly a glorious and holy day, in which the people moves out of its state of servitude and enters the ranks of a free nation. I thank you for your welcome, not just in my name but in the name of Italy, which will be with your help free and united”

Garibaldi moved then to Palazzo Doria, from whose balcony he spoke again. This scene is portrayed in the famous painting Ingresso di Garibaldi a Napoli il 7 settembre 1860 by Franz Wenzel Schwarz (1860).

On the same subject, the work by Schwarz also allows appreciating the palazzo in its original state: the building featured on the façade the Doria coat of arms and a crowning with eight marble statues. During World War II, Allied bombs irreparably damaged the building’s façade, completely destroying the coat of arms and six of the eights statue.

STATE AND FINISHES

The palazzo features a trapezoidal plan, with the main façade placed on the short side and oriented towards the square. This façade, in a typical Neoclassical fashion, is split into three levels: the lowers one features the entrance door, marked by four Doric columns supporting the balcony above; the central level features Ionic half-columns, framing three windows (the central one gives access to the balcony); the upper floor (the most damaged) once sported the Doria coat of arms and the statues which have been destroyed in World War II.

The sides of the palazzo, less visible and interesting from an architectural perspective, are much simpler in shape and only feature a series of gabled windows.

The rear of the building, right in front of Palazzo Carafa di Maddaloni, still features the secondary entryway which was then closed just a few years after its creation to put an end to the long-lasting quarrel between Doria and Carafa.

Seen from above, the palazzo boasts two internal courtyards, a hexagonal one (which clearly recalls a similar one, octagonal in shape, found in the Palazzo Serra di Cassano in the San Ferdinando neighborhood) and a rectangular one, connected by a vaulted passageway.

Inside, the palazzo is decorated in typical 18th-century fashion: one can admire several paintings by Fedele Fischetti (among which the beautiful one in the Gabinetto degli Specchi, portraying the return of Lamba Doria after the victorious battle of Curzola against Venice). Particularly interesting is the gabinetto degli specchi (the Mirror hall) on the first floor, where one can see paintings by Francesco Solimena (1657 – 1747) and decorations by Girolamo Starace-Franchis (1730 – 1794). The private chapel on the piano nobile was embellished and painted by Giovanni Maria Griffoni (1750 – 1798).

USE AND POTENTIAL USES

The palazzo, in excellent condition, is one Naples’s jewels and is a notable reference point for those who are interested in the history of the Italian Risorgimento. The building, thanks to its generous size and beautiful internal finishes, is perfect as a location for events and meetings.